motivation

It’s amazing how our lives are an extension of our innermost feelings and thoughts. A chaotic mindset befalls a dramatic and complicated personal life. A self assured and content outlook blossoms a peaceful and fulfilling lifestyle. It really is that simple. Not so simple is achieving such a beneficial consciousness. But, nothing worth anything ever is, right?

Things take time. What matters most, as always, is whether or not you’re truly ready to make a change. It’s that time of year when resolutions are made but never resolved, promises made but never kept; bandwagon optimists in bunches lying to themselves about their own desires. Couple weeks later, they barely remember the vow they made when the ball dropped, posthumous asterisks conveniently added to blanket their shortcomings.

“No, I didn’t say I would quit, I said I would slow down, ween till I eventually stopped.”

Uh huh. Self deception should be a mortal sin.

Change is slow but essential for progress. No one improves by remaining the same. Different ideologies must be adopted, ineffective behavioral patterns must be abandoned, comfort zones stretched to fit perpetually evolving circumstances. And the first step is not the toughest, it’s the backward and side steps, those that change your direction, force you to pick yourself off the ground and try again. But, it’s then that you learn the most, realizing your errors, adjusting game plans, challenging your willpower, resilience, and fortitude; adding depth and shade to your character; the gift of recreating yourself.

But, it all starts with a single thought. And no, I’m not referencing “the secret”, not in the least. This is about self-empowerment, telling yourself the things you need to hear, to believe, to get further in your personal journey of discovery. Nothing out there is half as important as what lies within. In its paradoxical nature, life rewards you when you take on the pro bono cases.

Start small. Remind yourself of how strong you are, how far you’ve come, how much you’ve overcome. Don’t neglect the failures, but don’t dwell in them either. Highlight the lessons they’ve taught you instead. Embrace your instincts, understand them, their origins, and act accordingly. If it’s preventing you from moving forward, discard it. Above all, persist.

Watch closely as that one thought evolves and multiplies, morphing you in the process. Later on, you’ll notice that far branched out from that first idea, over the various leaves of experience and the towering height that has become your self confidence, dangling at the top of a huge Oak wood, is where you will find everything you wanted in yourself.